Since we had to shopping, we decided to do with Coop. I payed by direct debit card ( and not credit card)

Today I found out that my points were not added to my card. On checking by phone, I get the reply that I should have payed by cash or by voucher and not by card.

But I do not think this was mentioned in the link. I feel that as a consumer I was being cheated. I have sent them an email for verification. However is there some rule that you get points only by paying by cash here in Switzerland ? ( am new to town and does not feel like shopping with Coop anymore ).

Hmm. I check my bank statements to see the money was completely taken by Coop only on March 4th. That could explain why they dont want to give me the points. But it is not my fault that they took money only on next working day.

From my experience companies are very reasonable in Switzerland and listen to complaints. So if you contact Coop and explain and point out what happened they will probably fix it.

At least we had a similar issue with Sunrise and they were very reasonable as well (we lost a lot of money because their website stated something that wasn't really true and they gave back that money). Also at Coop it happened once that we got charged for something twice at the counter. And we went back the next day to complain and they gave back the money.

Since we had to shopping, we decided to do with Coop. I payed by direct debit card ( and not credit card)

Today I found out that my points were not added to my card. On checking by phone, I get the reply that I should have payed by cash or by voucher and not by card.

But I do not think this was mentioned in the link. I feel that as a consumer I was being cheated. I have sent them an email for verification. However is there some rule that you get points only by paying by cash here in Switzerland ? ( am new to town and does not feel like shopping with Coop anymore ).

I did not use the voucher and expected everything works electronically perfect in a developed country like Switzerland. Coming from Finland, I thought all these data gets added to the card electronically and I did not had to do any extra paper voucher stuff. My mistake.

Well that explains I need to improve on my german and take extra precaution everytime that 'Switzerland still requires paper work'.

I did not use the voucher and expected everything works electronically perfect in a developed country like Switzerland. Coming from Finland, I thought all these data gets added to the card electronically and I did not had to do any extra paper voucher stuff. My mistake.

Well that explains I need to improve on my german and take extra precaution everytime that 'Switzerland still requires paper work'.

Coming from most of the developed world you would expect a promotion to work without physically cutting out a voucher. But welcome to switzerland. Housewife central!

Very few voucher-type things are automatic here. That's why there's little dash marks around each little voucher, so you can cut it out and take it with you. Coop offers these types of deals regularly so just watch for them and take the paper along next time.

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I did not use the voucher and expected everything works electronically perfect in a developed country like Switzerland. Coming from Finland

The nuisance is the whole point of this voucher system. You only get the discount if you really care about it. If you're not price sensitive you won't collect vouchers and you won't get these discounts.

The nuisance is the whole point of this voucher system. You only get the discount if you really care about it. If you're not price sensitive you won't collect vouchers and you won't get these discounts.

Even if you are price sensitive, I've found the coupon/voucher system here not worth my time. We never buy 100 worth of groceries in one stop. Some coupons require you to buy several of the same thing to get a tiny discount. Not really worth it.

Same goes for collecting stickers so you can buy things "on a huge discount." Right now Coop has dishes and flatware on the sticker program. For one full card of stickers (which I think is at least a few hundred Francs in spending), you can buy two soup bowls for the bargain price of 9.95. Really? I think even Ikea is cheaper for similar quality. Then again I guess if you are buying stuff anyway might as well collect the stickers and give to someone that wants them.

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Since we had to shopping, we decided to do with Coop. I payed by direct debit card ( and not credit card)

And what does it say on the shopping receipt? On each of them from COOP and its subsidiaries you should always have a detailed summary of Superpoints - something like old points, acquired points (each bonus enumerated) and finally the new point balance. Also, you can see on the display of the cash register how much points the shopping is giving you.

Of late I've found the voucher system backfiring... at least when it comes to my own purchase decisions.

Being far less organized than the average Swiss Hausfrau I often forget to bring my voucher with me. But it irks me that if I had my voucher to hand I could have bought the item less expensively - so I decide to forego the purchase altogether. And then I get p*ssed off at Coop and shop elsewhere.

So rather than generating good will by offering a discount, Coop loses a sale of an item - and loses goodwill.

I realize that this is my Auslander mindset, that Coop couldn't care less, and that if there even were such a thing as an unorganized Swiss Hausfrau she would simply say 'selber schuld' and buy the item anyway... but there you go.

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Out of curiosity - do other countries really handle everything automatically? When I shop in the US, I see people with paper vouchers all the time, and my US relatives also have a coupon collection. Actually, I even saw an ad for a TV program on coupon clippers in the US, showing a woman climbing into a paper container to fish out coupon magazines. Did not seem very advanced.

Out of curiosity - do other countries really handle everything automatically? When I shop in the US, I see people with paper vouchers all the time, and my US relatives also have a coupon collection. Actually, I even saw an ad for a TV program on coupon clippers in the US, showing a woman climbing into a paper container to fish out coupon magazines. Did not seem very advanced.

In the US, one finds manufacturer's coupons, and store offers. The two are handled differently.

In the stores I used to frequent* store offers were automatic, often linked to a loyalty card. Present the card at checkout, get the discount, or the discount is automatically included, depending on the type of offer.

Manufacturer's coupons - these usually come in a supplement in a newspaper, in mailings, or nowadays online - usually need to be handed to the cashier.

A big difference is that many stores keep a sample coupon at the check-out, so if you mention 'I had a coupon for X, Y, and Z, but I've forgotten it 'the cashier will scan her copy and you get the discount. Clever marketing, because the consumer then leaves feeling 'Gosh, I just got a freebie!'

Stores will also have extras of the coupon supplements as one walks in, feel free to grab one and use the coupons of interest.

The whole idea is that a coupon is a loss-leader, designed to get your shopping juices running.

*Sample not necessarily representative of the entire US retail industry.

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Even if you are price sensitive, I've found the coupon/voucher system here not worth my time. We never buy 100 worth of groceries in one stop. Some coupons require you to buy several of the same thing to get a tiny discount. Not really worth it.

Same goes for collecting stickers so you can buy things "on a huge discount." Right now Coop has dishes and flatware on the sticker program. For one full card of stickers (which I think is at least a few hundred Francs in spending), you can buy two soup bowls for the bargain price of 9.95. Really? I think even Ikea is cheaper for similar quality. Then again I guess if you are buying stuff anyway might as well collect the stickers and give to someone that wants them.

Now that I shop a lot more at Lidl and Aldi, I also don't spend as much at the other big 2. But it is easy to spend 99 CHF at COOP if doing a "medium" shop. Last week's offer was also valid at the Bau & Hobby and Coop City - so I went on a shopping spree at Bau & Hobby for 107 CHF I was hoping it would be valid at Fust, as I needed something there, but alas, it wasn't included!

I bought lots of things on those sticker savings when we lived in Germany - knives, towels, pans that were ok for induction hobs...must be others. Some of the deals are pretty good...or at least you don't necessarily spend extra just to get it if you shop there otherwise.

In order to be a semi-organized (non-Swiss) Hausfrau, I put all the vouchers and coupons in my purse as soon as I get them (if I think I might use it) so then I will have it with me. Of course, often I realize when I get to the store that I just grabbed my wallet and not my purse...ah well, I try - makes me feel extra good when I do remember/succeed!

This saturday extra 1000 points on your coop supercard with a purchase of 100 chf or more! Dont forget to bring the coupon with you so the cashier can scan it and transfer it to your supercard. You can find the coupon in this weeks coop magazine and I guess also online.